People in parts of the West Midlands are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital due to obesity than those elsewhere in England - and admissions have doubled in a year.

In Wolverhampton, there were 5,041 admissions to hospital in 2015/16 where obesity was a factor.

This was a rate of 2,129 per 100,000 people, 2.1 times the England rate of 995 admissions per 100,000, and one of the highest rates of admissions in England.

The number of admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of obesity have risen 95% in a year from 2,583 in 2014/15.

In Walsall, the number of admissions has jumped 179% in a year, from 1,707 in 2014/15 to 3,450 in 2015/16, a rate of 1,831 per 100,000 people, while in Dudley, there were 4,876 admissions in 2015/16, a rate of 1,587 per 100,000 people.

Solihull has seen the number of admissions more than double, from 896 in 2014/15 to 1,939 in 2015/16, a rate of 1,002 per 100,000 people.

Our bodies could boast a gene making us more susceptible to gaining weight.

Read More

In Birmingham, there were 12,752 admissions where obesity was a factor in 2015/16, a rate of 1,213 per 100,000 people, and up 38% from 9,265 in 2014/15.

There were 86 finished consultant episodes in Sandwell for bariatric surgery, such as gastric bypasses and stomach stapling, in 2015/16, a rate of 30 per 100,000 people, 2.4 times the England rate of 12 per 100,000. Numbers are up from 38 in 2014/15.

Solihull, with 53 episodes in 2015/16, a rate of 26 per 100,000, and Birmingham, 222 episodes, a rate of 24 per 100,000, both had high rates of surgery compared to England.

There were at least 34 children at risk of being morbidly obese in Birmingham last year - with one city schoolchild weighing 15.7 stone

Read More

Birmingham has seen the number of bariatric surgery episodes nearly triple in a year, up from 82 in 2014/15, while in Solihull they were up from 16 in 2014/15.

Across England in 2015/16, there were 524,725 admissions to NHS hospitals where obesity was a factor.

The number of admissions was 19% higher than the 440,288 recorded in 2014/15, and ten times higher than the 52,019 recorded in 2005/06, according to figures released by NHS Digital.

Admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of obesity are growing fastest among younger people, rising by 27% in a year for 25 to 34-year-olds, from 71,483 to 90,480, and by 23% among 16 to 24-year-olds. For moth groups admissions are 20 times higher than they were 10 years ago. Admissions among over 70s are also rising quickly, up 20% in a year, from 47,732 to 57,018.

NHS logo (Image: PA)

In 2015/16, there were 6,438 Finished Consultant Episodes in NHS hospitals with a primary diagnosis of obesity and a main or secondary procedure of bariatric surgery. This was up from 6,032 in in 2014/15, but down from a peak of 8,794 in 2011/12.

Three-fifths of bariatric surgery patients were aged between 35 and 54 (59%), and more than three-quarters of patients were female (78%). One under 16 received the surgery in 2015/16.

The figures for bariatric surgery only cover inpatients, due to poor quality of data for outpatients. Some changes in numbers over time may be due to better recording of primary and secondary diagnoses.

Read More

NHS funding

In 2015, 58% of women and 68% of men were overweight or obese. Obesity prevalence increased from 15% in 1993 to 27% in 2015.

Just a quarter of adults (26%) ate the recommended 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day in 2015. Women (27%) were more likely to do so than men (24%). In 2015/16, 26% of adults were classified as inactive (fewer than 30 minutes physical activity a week).

For children, in 2015/16, more than 1 in 5 children in Reception, and more than 1 in 3 children in Year 6 were measured as obese or overweight. Half (52%) of 15-year-olds reported they consumed 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day in 2014.